Self-eeathebingr adjusting tide-wheel



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RICHARD L. NELSON, OF OOALA, FLORIDA.

SELF-FEATHERING ADJUSTING 'FIDE-WHEEL.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 13,793, dated November 13, 1855.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD L. NELSON, of Ocala, in the county of Marion and State of Florida, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tide or Current Self-Feathering lVater-Vheels; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making a part thereof, in which- Figure l represents a front elevation; Fig. 2, a section through the line w, of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3, a section through the line y, y, of Fig. l.

Similar letters where they occur denote like parts.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe the same with reference to the drawings: v

A, represents the frame for supporting the wheel and its several parts.

B is a vertical shaft which is suitably supported in the frame, so as to freely turn therein.

O, in a hub which may freely slide up and down on the shaft B, but so arranged as to turn with the shaft.. Through the hub O, outside of' the center thereof, passes any suitable number of rods or shafts o, a, a, extending from said hub outward, according to the diameter of the wheel to be constructed. Upon the outer ends of these rods or shafts a, a, a, are arranged the pairs of buckets or blades D, D, set at right angles to each other, and so that they can only turn or feather, when the shaft or rod upon which they are fixed turns or feathers, as seen in the drawings. To the lower end of the hub, so as to rise and fall with it, but not to turn around with it, is arranged a segmental cam, or cam ledge E, having its more abrupt rise, or throw, at b, (Fig. 3,) about in line with the hub O. As the blades D', (which are the ones receiving the action of the flowing water, and stand perpendicularly therein, strike the abrupt part o of the cam ledge, they turn from a perpendicular to a horizontal position (or a quarter revolution) bringing their fellows or mates D, into a vertical position. Or in other words, the feathering of one blade, to

pass edgewise through the water after it has passed beyond the direct action of the water, turns its fellow on the opposite end of the rod or shaft into position to receive the force of the flowing current.

`It is immaterial in which direction the wheel turns, and may be operated by the flow or ebb of ordinary tides, or run in one direction only by the current of the stream in which it may be placed. The wheel with its cam ledge, may fioat up and down on the shaft, so as always to be at any fixed position with regard to the surface of the water-the cam ledge being guided and held in its proper position, by the guide rod o upon which it moves.

To prevent irregularity in the motion of the wheel, and keep it as nearly uniform as possible, with the constantly varying velocity of the tide, I apply water brakes, to the wheel, which. are self-acting, and increase or diminish with the force of the current, which operates them.

F, is a block or wheel, permanently attached to the lower end of the shaft B, and serves as a brake block.

e, e', are pressing wheels, arranged in the sliding pieces G G.

H, H, are levers pivoted at f, upon their upper ends floats or buo-ys I I, are arranged to slide up and down with the rise or fall of the water. The lower ends of the levers H, are respectively pivoted to their sliding pieces Gr.

Vhen the current is in the direction of the arrows l, 1, the brake or pressing wheel e', is drawn away from the block F and that e, forced against it by the power of the current carrying with it the float I. When the current is in the direction of the arrows 2, 2, then the operation of the pressing wheels e, e is reversed the one thrown out, the other into action. The perimeter of the wheels F, e, o, may be fluted or roughened, and may be made of a conical form if desired.

Having thus fully described the nature of my invention, what I claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent isl. The arrangement of the floating cam and the Heating self-feathering blades or buckets, when said cam and blades are made to rise and fall, with the rise and fall of the speed of the Wheel, substantially as dethe stream or Water that drives the Wheel, scribed. substantially as described.

Q. I also claim in combination with a Jside R L' NELSON' 5 or current Water Wheel, the self acting Water Witnesses brake, for causing the variable force of the A. B. STOUGHTON,

current, to be applied to the regulating of E. COHEN. 

